Xie Mo's words made Tong Mu's expression change drastically. He looked at Sun Tu aside in surprise, only to find that his client had calmed down at this time. He stared at Xie Mo and said slowly: "Mr. Xie, you really think highly of me. Mr. Sun, if you are talking nonsense like this, aren't you afraid that I will convict you of being a deceiver and have you executed in the army?"
Facing Chi Guoguo's threat, Xie Mo showed no signs of fear and looked back at Sun Tu with a faint smile: "I believe that General Sun will not kill me because of this. Besides, you also understand in your heart that what I said is wrong. Xu, you need me to help you win over people in Jiangnan..."
"It seems that Mr. Xie has lost his mind because he has endured hardship in the mountains for many days. Come here!" Sun Tu interrupted him before he could finish his words and gave another order. When Tang Feng brought two personal soldiers into the tent, he ordered: "Please invite Mr. Xie down and treat him well, but don't let him make any mistakes."
After listening to Sun Tu's order, Tang Feng immediately stepped forward and said to Xie Mo: "Thank you, Master." Xie Mo, after taking a deep look at Sun Tu, said nothing more, just smiled unexpectedly, and then stood up obediently. Leave with a few people.
It wasn't until there were only two people left in the tent that Tong Mu finally calmed down and said, "Sanlang, did he really tell you what you were thinking? You have such great ambitions!" Based on his understanding of Sun Tu, he could tell just from his reaction just now. Some clues came out, which still made him feel frightened until now, and his heartbeat was much faster than usual.
"Second brother is joking. I have never had such an idea. This is just nonsense." Sun Tu shook his head and denied: "The only ones who can give orders from me now are the 20,000 Shandong soldiers. Do you think I Would you have such unrealistic thoughts?"
Although Tong Mu nodded slightly, the doubts in his eyes did not dissipate. Since their reunion in Jinling, he has felt something different from Sun Tu and realized that he does have great ambitions, so Xie Mo's statement is really not nonsense. But after all, this matter was so fatal that even he didn't dare to think about it deeply. In the end, he could only smile and said: "You and I are brothers. No matter what you want to do in the future, your brother will always help you."
Just this sentence made Sun Tu feel warm in his heart, and then he smiled and said: "I naturally understand the friendship between my second brother and me. Just taking this incident as an example, it is enough to show how kind my brother is. I'm afraid Zhu Meng has already Knowing that you came to warn me, have you ever worried that you would be blamed for this?"
These words finally reminded Tong Mu, and his expression suddenly tightened. What happened this time was Zhu Meng's plan to harm Sun Tu. Now that he suddenly came to warn him, he would naturally be regarded as a traitor and enemy. He might really encounter trouble when he returns to Jinling. Even though he is Tong Guan's great-nephew, after all, it's hard to save a fire from afar, not to mention that Tong Guan is being suppressed by important ministers in the court and has too much time to take care of himself.
Seeing that he was uneasy, Sun Tu hurriedly said something to comfort him: "Second brother, don't worry, this matter can be remedied, you just need to..." He revealed his plan, and then said with a smile: "In this way, even if he wants to If it’s going to be detrimental to you, you have to weigh the consequences.”
Tong Mu gave a bitter smile: "I didn't expect that not only did I warn you, but I also became your accomplice. This time we really share weal and woe."
“This is how you and I are supposed to be brothers, what’s the problem
Don't worry, second brother, as long as I'm here, Zhu Meng will never dare to harm you. "Sun Tu said and stepped forward to pat the other party's shoulder and solemnly promise.
At this time, Tong Mu seemed to have no other choice and could only nod with a wry smile: "Then as you said, we brothers will join forces to solve this trouble first."
"What you and I have to solve is not only the immediate trouble, but also the person who caused the trouble." Sun Tu said, murderous intent flashed in his eyes: "Second brother, don't forget, you and I got together many days ago That night, everything was decided."
Tong Mu nodded seriously, then turned and left. Although it was already midnight, he had no intention of resting for the night, so he left the camp directly, rode towards Jinling again, and came to the gate of Zhu's Mansion again near the fourth watch.
Although it was early in the morning, Tong Mu had no intention of waiting for dawn to see Zhu Meng again. He immediately asked the guard to send a message inside, saying that he had come from Sun Tu's army and had something to discuss with Zhu Meng in detail.
Upon hearing that Tong Tuiguan was from the Shandong Army, the guards did not dare to neglect and quickly passed the news in. It was not until a while later that someone sent a message and asked Tong Mu to come in to talk.
Zhu Meng in the hall looked very ugly at this time. As a fat man, he was very lethargic. Ordinary people would be angry if someone disturbed their sweet dreams like this in the early morning, let alone him. Seeing Tong Mu come in at this time, he immediately snorted with a dark face: "Tong Tuiguan, you are so brave!"
"It is indeed a crime to disturb Zhu Shuai at this time during the official election, but the matter is so important that I really dare not delay it."
"Are you referring to such a trivial matter? Tong Mu, don't forget that you are an official of Jiangnan Province. This time, you actually went out of your way to collude with Sun Tu. You really think that I am a good person." Can you be deceived?" At the end of his sentence, Zhu Meng slapped the table and glared angrily.
An ordinary person would have been so overwhelmed by Zhu Meng's momentum that he would be unable to speak. But at this time, Tong Mu showed that his character was far superior to that of his colleagues. He remained calm in the face of pressure and asked with a smile: "No matter civil servants or military generals, Jiangnan or Shandong, they are all officials of our Song Dynasty. Dare I ask Zhu Shuai? What's wrong with me going to see Sun Tu because I have a good relationship with him? Or is there something else that Zhu Shuai is jealous of, and he is actually afraid that I will leak the news and become pregnant with you?"
"Hmph, that's nonsense. How could I have such thoughts?"
"Then I dare to ask Zhu Shuai, why didn't you hide the fact that Xie Mo was among the rebels on Qixia Mountain and let Sun Tu quell the chaos as soon as possible? Isn't this trying to kill people with a borrowed knife, so what is it?" Tong Mu didn't bother to go around in circles anymore, and directly Let’s get down to business.
After his disguise was torn away by him, Zhu Meng's expression became even more sinister: "Tong Tuiguan, do you know what you are talking about? You should know better than me about the sin of contradicting and slandering Shangguan, right?"
"Of course, Zhu Shuai, you can punish me severely for this crime, or even kill me with a knife. But what I want to tell you is that your conspiracy has now been known to Sun Tu, and I am here today at his request. , I’ll tell you everything.” Facing the threat, Tong Mu became more and more calm, no longer as cautious as before, and looked directly at the other person: “Compared with the fire on the mountain today, Zhu Shuai has also seen it with his own eyes.
Since the fire broke out, many rebels have fled down the mountain and have been captured by the Shandong Army, but there is no Xie Mo among them. And judging from the momentum of the mountain fire, those who have not yet come down the mountain will probably die. "
Hearing this, even in his anger, Zhu Meng's eyes still showed a hint of joy. It could be said that Xie Mo's existence was not as threatening to him as Fang La. Knowing that he might really die on the mountain naturally made him feel relieved.
Taking in the changes in his expression, Tong Mu couldn't help but sneer in his heart, looking down on this cruel and greedy guy even more. This Zhu Meng was indeed very cruel on weekdays. He didn't seem to take anyone's life seriously, even the court officials. He would kill him whenever he wanted. But in fact, his violence is selective, and he will only target those who are weak and harmless, but he does not dare to attack those with strong backgrounds. For example, he or Sun Tu, even if he was really angry, he would not dare to kill him.
And Xie Mo was the one he was deeply afraid of. All Zhu Men could do was borrow a knife to kill someone.
"Now Sun Tu knows that you are using him to eliminate dissidents, and is very angry about it. But after all, the deal is done and the matter is irreversible, so he asked me to talk to Zhu Shuai. He can help with this matter. You can bear it, but accordingly, you have to pay some price."
"The price? I didn't kill the person, so why should I do what you want?" Zhu Meng laughed. He was really feeling proud. If he succeeded in killing someone with a borrowed knife this time, he might be able to kill two birds with one stone and use public opinion and public opinion to eradicate Sun Tu as well. By then, he could still get some benefits from Cai Jing and others, so naturally he didn't want to compromise with Sun Tu.
"Don't Zhushuai understand yet? Many people on the mountain have fallen into Sun Tu's hands before. If he wants to clear up the relationship, there are always some ways. For example, let these people spread the news in other places in Jiangnan, just like this Everything was arranged by you, Zhu Shuai. I wonder what the outcome will be then? Also, although Xie Mo's reputation is great, it is only limited to a corner of the south of the Yangtze River. If Sun Tu leads his troops to evacuate at this time, the consequences of his death will only be It's up to you to bear the responsibility. At that time, he will be charged with fleeing in battle at most. As long as my uncle comes forward, he can still be saved. But here in Jiangnan, the chaos will only become more and more chaotic. If you fail to calm down the chaos, Zhu Shuai, you will be guilty of this crime. But it's too big.
"In addition, you have seen how strong the Shandong Army is. Without them, trying to quell the Fang La Rebellion will have setbacks. Zhu Shuai, do you really have the confidence to say that you don't need Sun Tu's help?"
Zhu Meng's face suddenly turned green and black, then black and white. Although he was angry, he couldn't hold it in for a while, but he could hold it in until his stomach would explode. After a long while, he stared at Tong Mu sadly: "Tell me, what benefit does he want to get from it?"
Seeing his compromise, Tong Mu felt reassured and his tone became calmer: "It's very simple. The imperial court promised Sun Tu to allocate food and grass for half a year before, and hoped that Zhu Shuai would fulfill his promise. Also, the impact of this incident is bad, In order to appease the three armies, he also needs some money and food as compensation, so he needs nine months of food and grass, plus 200,000 arrows, 30,000 sets of armor..." In a flash, he reported a long list of logistical requirements. , but even Zhu Meng was dumbfounded. This Sun Tu’s appetite must be too big!